Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum

Jim Tatum was born in McColl, South Carolina on July 22, 1913. He played football as a left tackle like four of his older brothers. Tatum attended the University of North Carolina where he played for Carl Snavely's Tar Heels and earned All-American honors during his senior year in . The following season, he became Snavely's assistant coach and followed him to Cornell in 1936. Tatum returned to North Carolina in 1940 as an assistant coach under Bear Wolf. In 1942, Tatum was promoted into the head coaching job himself and compiled a 5–2–2 record. The next year, during the Second World War, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served as an assistant coach for the Iowa Pre-Flight School football team under Don Faurot, the inventor of the split-T. Future Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson worked as an assistant coach alongside Tatum. Luster had struggled in the position as the Second World War put a continuous and heavy drain on athletes at the University of Oklahoma. The final game before Luster's resignation was a 0–47 loss at the hands of Oklahoma A&M, which rounded out Oklahoma's 1945 season with a 5–5 record. Tatum and his staff also recruited nine players who became All-Americans: Plato Andros, Buddy Burris, Jack Mitchell, Jim Owens, John Rapacz, Darrell Royal, George Thomas, Wade Walker, and Stan West. ==The 1947 season==

, who had limited playing time under Shaughnessy, proved a star during the 1947 season. In Tatum's initial season at Maryland, his results were similar to those at Oklahoma. After compiling a 3–6 record the year prior, the Terrapins improved to 7–2–2 under Tatum. Whereas his predecessor Clark Shaughnessy had pioneered the T-formation, Tatum installed the split-T offense that his former colleague Don Farout had invented. The team's two losses came at the hands of two ranked period powerhouses, Duke and North Carolina. The Terrapins' regular-season play earned them a berth in their first postseason game. Gambino recorded all three Maryland touchdowns and 165 rushing yards, which set a school bowl-game record that stood for 60 years until broken by Da'Rel Scott in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl. Effects Gambino finished the year as the NCAA scoring leader with 96 points. He was inducted into the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992 for his achievement as the bowl game's "first superb running back." Lu Gambino received All-Southern Conference honors. ==The 1948 season==

The 1948 season saw Maryland slide to a 6–4 record, but they delivered four shutouts and lost two of their games by a combined three points. Two of their four losses came against ranked conference opponents, and a third was a 34-point shutout at the hands of Vanderbilt. Future two-time Heisman runner-up Charlie Justice helped North Carolina to a 29-point romp over the Terrapins. ==The 1949 season==

Maryland improved to 9–1 in 1949 to earn their second bowl appearance. Their lone loss came against a ranked Michigan State team and Maryland allowed no opponent to score more than 14 points. They recorded victories over two ranked teams: Boston U. and Missouri under Tatum's former boss, Don Faurot. The Terrapins again traveled to the Gator Bowl for their finale, and they defeated 20th-ranked Missouri. ==The 1950 season==

(pictured here with the upper deck, a modern addition) was completed in time for the 1950 season. The Terrapins started off as the 15th-ranked team in the preseason AP Poll. At Georgia, Maryland lost its season-opener, 7–27. In Week 2, the Terrapins played the inaugural game at the newly completed Byrd Stadium. It was the first game against the Naval Academy in 16 years. The series had been canceled in 1934 after Maryland accused Navy of an illegal game-winning play. In 1950, Maryland agreed to fill a vacancy in the Navy schedule left open by a Georgetown cancellation. The high-scoring game was the 12th meeting of the intense in-state rivalry and resulted in just the second-ever Maryland win. After upsetting second-ranked Michigan State, 34–7, Maryland climbed to an AP Poll ranking of eighth in the nation and then defeated Georgetown. The second loss dropped them out of the AP Poll for the remainder of the year. Bob Ward was named a first-team All-American. Ward and Elmer Wingate were named All-Southern Conference. ==The 1951 season==

helped engineer Maryland's undefeated 1951 season. Over the course of the season, Maryland outscored its opponents 381–74, accumulated three shutout wins, and held seven opponents to 7 points or less. It was Maryland's first 10-win season and remains the team's only perfect undefeated season in the modern era. Maryland entered the season at number-16 on the AP and Coaches' polls, and remained ranked for the duration. A 40-point trouncing of conference foe George Washington in the season-opener propelled the Terrapins to a number-nine ranking in both polls. They secured a berth in the Sugar Bowl to face the number-one team in the nation, undefeated Tennessee led by head coach "General" Robert Neyland. 1952 Sugar Bowl The Washington Post called the 1952 Sugar Bowl the second "game of the century", with the first having been between the undefeated Army and Notre Dame teams in 1946. Maryland was viewed as an underdog against Tennessee, which included five All-Americans on its roster. The Volunteers were led by Heisman runner-up quarterback Hank Lauricella, and Neyland's offensive linemen were described as not large but "squatty" and "bruiser[s], not flashy, but slightly murderous." Neyland considered the split-T offense used by Tatum gimmicky and relied on the more traditional single-wing formation. Late in the second quarter, Tennessee back Bert Rechichar caught a four-yard pass for a touchdown, but the extra point was no good. At the end of the first half, Maryland had stunned Tennessee by gaining a 21–6 lead. In the fourth quarter, Fullerton intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. Awards Jim Tatum was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year. Bob Ward received the Knute Rockne Award and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year. Bob Ward was named a consensus first-team All-American and Dick Modzelewski and Ed Modzelewski were named second-team All-Americans. Ward and Ed Modzelewski were named All-Southern Conference. ==The 1952 season==

Maryland was sanctioned for violating a Southern Conference rule, passed halfway through the 1951 season, that banned postseason play. The punishment, for participating in the Sugar Bowl, disallowed the Terrapins from playing any conference games during the 1952 season. This compelled Maryland to schedule all but three games on the road. Tatum considered resigning in order to enter business. University president Byrd, a staunch patron of football at the school, was preparing to campaign for governor, and Tatum feared his successor would significantly reduce the number of athletic scholarships available. He and Byrd, however, had also disagreed over the decision to participate in bowl games in violation of conference rules. Tatum was opposed to it, as it greatly increased the difficulty of scheduling and had caused the reduction in number of home games. Awards In 1952, Maryland quarterback Jack Scarbath was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to college football's most outstanding player. Scarbath received 367 points, coming behind to Oklahoma running back Billy Vessels, who received 525 points. ==The 1953 season==

During this season, Maryland outscored its opponents 298–38, accumulated six shutout wins, and allowed only one team, Georgia, to score more than 7 points. At the end of the regular season, the three wire services, the Associated Press, International News Service, and United Press, each named Maryland as the national championship team. Maryland entered the season ranked ninth in the preseason AP Poll. In the season opener against Missouri, Chet Hanulak scored in the first two minutes of play on a 61-yard run. Maryland intercepted four passes while sacrificing three fumbles in the 20–7 win. After defeating George Washington 27–6, the Terrapins went on to shut out two ranked teams: 11th-ranked Mississippi and 11th-ranked Alabama. Maryland secured a share of the ACC championship alongside Duke and a berth in the Orange Bowl as the only undefeated and untied team in the nation. Maryland ranked first nationally in terms of rushing defense (83.9 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (3.1 points allowed per game). At the same time, the Terps scored a record combined total of 298 points, a number not exceeded until 1967. Awards Like the year prior, in 1953, a Maryland quarterback, Bernie Faloney, was in contention for the Heisman Trophy. Faloney finished fourth in the running and received 258 points, behind Notre Dame's John Lattner (1,850), Minnesota's Paul Giel (1,794), and UCLA's Paul Cameron (444). Stan Jones was selected as a consensus first-team All-American. Bernie Faloney was also named a first-team All-American. Chet Hanulak was named a second-team All-American. Four Terrapins were named to the All-ACC first-team: John Bowersox, Bernie Faloney, Chester Hanulak, and Stan Jones. Three were named to the All-ACC second-team: Ralph Felton, Bob Morgan, and Bill Walker. ==The 1954 season==

On Thanksgiving Day, Tatum coached Maryland to a pummeling, 74–13, of his former boss Don Faurot's Missouri, Maryland finished the season with a 7–2–1 record and was named the eighth-ranked team by AP. Bill Walker was selected by AP as a second-team All-American. Three Maryland players were named to the All-ACC first team: Dick Bielski, Bill Walker, and Ronnie Waller. Two were named to the All-ACC second team: John Irvine and Bob Pellegrini. ==The 1955 season==

In Tatum's final season in College Park, Maryland spent four weeks as the first-ranked team in the AP Poll and ten weeks ranked in the top three. No opponent managed more than 13 points during the regular season. Maryland again had the first-ranked rushing defense in the nation, allowing 83.9 yards per game. It was a rain-soaked defensive contest at Byrd Stadium, where Maryland held UCLA's rushing attack to −21 yards. UCLA quarterback Ronnie Knox completed 10 of 15 passes for 100 yards but also threw two interceptions. With the victory, the Terrapins became the first-ranked team. Maryland then defeated Wake Forest, 28–7, and held them to nine rushing yards. Mike Sandusky was also named a first-team All-American. Ed Vereb and Bill Walker were named second-team All-Americans. Four Maryland players were named to the All-ACC first-team: Jack Davis, Bob Pellegrini, Mike Sandusky, and Ed Vereb. Three were named to the All-ACC second-team: Russell Dennis, Frank Tamburello, and Bill Walker. ==Tatum's departure==

served as Maryland president during most of Tatum's tenure. In 1954, Curley Byrd resigned as university president in order to enter state politics, and was replaced by Dr. Wilson Elkins, a Rhodes scholar and former Texas quarterback. Elkins worked to improve academic standards at the school, which had been criticized for overemphasizing football. One year during Tatum's tenure, the school awarded 93 football scholarships averaging $944 each ($ adjusted for inflation). The Diamondback student newspaper said that, while Tatum was at Maryland, it "was an era in which an inadequate stadium became ultra-adequate, and an inadequate library became more inadequate." After the 1955 season, Tatum took an 18% pay cut, from $18,500 to $15,000 (from $ to $ in inflation-adjusted terms), to return to North Carolina as head coach. There, The Daily Tar Heel student newspaper was displeased to see Tatum arrive and called him a "parasitic monster of open professionalism." After a few years, however, he was accepted by the student body, the faculty, and alumni. Tatum had said, "I'm going back to North Carolina to die," ==See also==